Welcome

Welcome to the POZ Community Forums, a round-the-clock discussion area for people with HIV/AIDS, their friends/family/caregivers, and
others concerned about HIV/AIDS. Click on the links below to browse our various forums; scroll down for a glance at the most recent posts; or join in the
conversation yourself by registering on the left side of this page.

Privacy Warning: Please realize that these forums are open to all, and are fully searchable via Google and other search engines. If you are HIV positive
and disclose this in our forums, then it is almost the same thing as telling the whole world (or at least the World Wide Web). If this concerns you, then do not use a
username or avatar that are self-identifying in any way. We do not allow the deletion of anything you post in these forums, so think before you post.

The information shared in these forums, by moderators and members, is designed to complement, not replace, the relationship between an individual and his/her own
physician.

All members of these forums are, by default, not considered to be licensed medical providers. If otherwise, users must clearly define themselves as such.

Forums members must behave at all times with respect and honesty. Posting guidelines, including time-out and banning policies, have been established by the moderators
of these forums. Click here for “Am I Infected?” posting guidelines. Click here for posting guidelines pertaining to all other POZ community forums.

We ask all forums members to provide references for health/medical/scientific information they provide, when it is not a personal experience being discussed. Please
provide hyperlinks with full URLs or full citations of published works not available via the Internet. Additionally, all forums members must post information which are
true and correct to their knowledge.

Finished Reading This? You can collapse this or any other box on this page by clicking the
symbol in each box.

Welcome to Am I Infected

Welcome to the "Am I Infected?" POZ forum.

New members -- those who have posted three or fewer messages -- are permitted to post questions and responses, free of charge (make them count!). Ongoing participation in the "Am I Infected?" forum -- posting more than three questions or responses -- requires a paid subscription.

A seven-day subscription is $9.99, a 30-day subscription is $14.99 and a 90-day subscription is $24.99.

Anyone who needs to post more than three messages in the "Am I Infected?" forum -- including past, present and future POZ Forums members -- will need to subscribe, with secure payments made via PayPal.

There will be no charge to continue reading threads in the "Am I Infected?" forum, nor will there be a charge for participating in any of the Main Forums; Meds, Mind, Body & Benefits; and Off Topic Forums. Similarly, all POZ pages, including our "HIV Transmission and Risks" and "Am I Infected? (A Guide to Testing for HIV)" basics, will remain accessible to all.

NOTE: HIV testing questions will still need to be posted in the "Am I Infected?" forum; attempts to post HIV symptoms or testing questions in any other forums will be considered violations of our rules of membership and subject to time-outs and permanent bans.

To learn how to upgrade your Forums account to participate beyond three posts in the "Am I Infected?" Forum, please click here.

Thank you for your understanding and future support of the best online support service for people living with, affected by and at risk for HIV.

Author
Topic: Assessment (Read 2339 times)

Background: I am a 27 year old gay man who has engaged in unprotected anal sex within the last two months: two months ago as the top, two weeks ago as the bottom.

Two months after the first unprotected sex I broke out with an itchy, red, rash all over my cheeks and splotchy all over my face. I should note that I have a skin condition called psoriasis that causes these sort of breakouts, however I have never had a breakout such as this on my face, and breakouts are usually prevented by the medication I take for the condition (Enbrel). I went to the dermatologist and was prescribed some topical ointments that cleared up the rash on my face within several days. All told, the rash lasted about 1.5 to 2 weeks and it hasn't returned since.

Fast forward to two weeks ago, I had receptive unprotected anal sex. 24 hours later I was in the worst pain of my life with severe stomach cramps and diarrhea. This lasted for about 1.5 weeks with no let-up of the diarrhea - together with pretty bad fatigue. After a round of steroids and antibiotics my stomach has calmed down significantly, but the fatigue remains - as does slight fever and now a mild headache throughout the day. Just a general crappy, run-down feeling.

I test regularly, and a week after the receptive unprotected anal sex I took an HIV rapid test at home which was negative (so I think that would NEARLY rule out the possibility of getting something from the partner two months ago at least?).

I'm still pretty worried here. Everything I've read tells me that it is unlikely that I have HIV and that symptoms are very unlikely just 24 hours after infection, but my immune system is already compromised because of the Enrbrel injections I take for the psoriasis. I suspect my body has been fighting this viral stomach thing I've been having and it just mimics any kind of infection (and therefore the symptoms of recent HIV infection).

Both partners say they are negative and the recent one was tested right before our encounter. I am planning on getting an early detection test at the three week point, but in the meantime does anyone have any thoughts on what I've written? Thanks in advance. I feel so dumb for posting this. This anxiety is NOT worth doing it without a condom.

You know you have a risk so the only thing you can do is test 6 weeks past the last unprotected anal or vaginal sex you had . You can follow up the 6 week test at 3 months for a conclusive result .

To agree to have unprotected intercourse is to consent to the possibility of being infected with an STI. Sex without a condom lasts only a matter of minutes, but hiv is forever.

ALTHOUGH YOU DO NOT NEED FURTHER HIV TESTING AT THIS TIME, anyone who is sexually active should be having a full sexual health care check-up, including but not limited to hiv testing, at least once a year and more often if unprotected intercourse occurs.

If you aren't already having regular, routine check-ups, now is the time to start. As long as you make sure condoms are being used for intercourse, you can fully expect your routine hiv tests to return with negative results.

Don't forget to always get checked for all the other sexually transmitted infections as well, because they are MUCH easier to transmit than hiv. Some of the other STIs can be present with no obvious symptoms, so the only way to know for sure is to test.

Use condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, correctly and consistently, and you will avoid hiv infection. It really is that simple!

Please stop having unprotected sex . I have lived with HIV for over 30 years and I promise you that you do not want to live with HIV . The truth is that its not only your health at stake , had you been in the seroconversion stage with a high viral load you may well could have transmitted the infection every time you engaged in unprotected intercourse .

Hello - pretty straightforward question (if this is in the wrong forum, I apologize...please move if necessary).

Is there any evidence (clinically or anecdotally) of late or delayed seroconversion in patients with previous ongoing autoimmune disorders? The autoimmune disorders in my case are psoriasis (treated with a TNF-inhibitor called Enbrel) as well as a thyroid condition called Hashimoto's disease (not requiring treatment).

I understand the usual tests and their associated window periods but would like to know if there's evidence of autoimmune disease having an effect on these window periods and whether or not an already-supressed immune system can also have a similar effect. Thanks in advance for any information.

Our rule is for members to keep all entries in a single thread. Your entries have been merged here and this is the only thread in which you should be writing. Thanks for your cooperation.

Stop making your situation more complicated than it is. If you use a standard HIV test at 6 weeks and again at 3 months and get negative results those will be reliable and at 3 months conclusive. The illnesses you are concerned about will not affect the window period for a reliable result.

Autoimmune diseases do not cause delayed seroconversion. They can, however, cause false positive antibody results. Any positive antibody result must be confirmed with a Western Blot test, because a WB will weed out false positive antibody results.

The med you're on for psoriasis also will not cause delayed seroconversion. You'll still test positive within the normal window period.

Unfortunately there are no short-cuts to hiv testing for a conclusive result. The gold standard remains at three months post exposure.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Thank you all for the information. This community is such a great resource.

sk,

You're welcome. I've quoted your post so I can remove it - you have one free post left. Use it wisely.

You still have a few weeks to go until you can get a six week test over the unprotected, receptive anal sex. While a negative result at that point will be highly unlikely to change, it must be confirmed at the three month point.

Please learn from this and stop having unprotected intercourse. Hopefully you'll come out of this ok.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts